Here’s a case study of an actual purchase my company and I made. It’s an 80-unit apartment that was bought in February 2018. We found it through a simple cold call, as easy as it sounds.
What it took was multiple follow-ups. The owner was originally not interested whatsoever, but we were able to convert them into being interested. The key was staying top-of-mind.
Here are a few more details about this specific property. We bought this building for $3.35 million—a price that’s a steal in the current market. An additional $200,000 was raised from investors to take care of improvements. In exchange, they got equity in the deal.
Let’s go ahead and get into the actual tactics of how to find these deals. When going direct-to-owner, which is by far my favorite, everything is public information. This means that you find a property like 123 Main Street, and then you can see who the actual owner is.
Some owners who are a little bit less sophisticated may have the property in their personal name; others may have it in an LLC. But once you get that owner name from a simple Google search, you can find out all of their contact information. One source you can use is TruePeopleSearch.com or even BeenVerified.com (but this one is paid).
If the property’s in an LLC, there are other directories that you have to go through, but lots can be done through a simple Google search. Love that phenomenal source.
Another route I love to go is the off-market route, because in today’s climate, everyone’s getting multiple calls and offers, taking the highest and best. Going direct allows you to sidestep that.
But the key thing through all of this, just from my personal experience, is the follow-up. This is what I’m sharing with everyone. This is what will separate you from everyone. It normally takes between six to 12 touches just to get in contact with a decision-maker of a specific property, so you have to be creative. Use text, use direct mail, use cold calls.
And then the last but not least is building a team. You’re only one person. If you have a team, you’re able to delegate certain things—such as researching, such as doing the calls. Some of you don’t like making those calls! I know some of you out there are squeamish about making a cold call to a complete stranger. But if you’re not able to do it yourself, just simply find someone.
There are sources out there like Fiverr.com and Upwork.com. So just delegate and get people underneath you so that you can focus on the more high-value activities of building your business.